TVSquad

Welcome to the final installment of "AI Aftermath," where we explore Idol's past. Each installment, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated at the same point. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of David Cook's crowning as your American Idol, we will look back at other winners.

This week: The Winners, featuring Kelly Clarkson (Season One), Ruben Studdard (Season Two), Fantasia Barrino (Season Three), Carrie Underwood (Season Four), Taylor Hicks (Season Five) and Jordin Sparks (Season Six).

Going into last night's finale of American Idol, I was very excited to see the Davids battle each other for the title. It was the first American Idol in a while that did not have an obvious winner at the outset. Even though it really was David Archuleta's night, I still hold out hope that David Cook might pull out a win. He's the one with the most potential and is the better performer. Little Archuleta has that killer voice, though.

Anyway, last night's epic battle got me thinking about past American Idol finales and whether any of them were this much of a contest. It seems like we've gone into most of the American Idol finales with obvious winners. Here's a breakdown of the past American Idol finales, and whether they stack up to last night's performances:

Clay Aiken's career track is an interesting one. For someone with my musical tastes and interests, he virtually disappeared after his season of American Idol was over. His act is really just not for me. Unlike so many other also-rans from the show though, a couple times a year, he pops up again. Clay is performing here. He's sold another million albums there. And along the way he's managed to build one of the most devoted fan bases anyone could ask for.

That brings us to the latest rise of Clay on to the radar for the rest of us. He's kicking off the release of his fourth studio album next Monday, with an appearance on QVC. I'm reminded of Arsenio and the old "things that make you go hmmm" bit. I'm not sure I get it, but we should probably just not question Clay's judgment. He seems to be doing alright. He's never going to have the media exposure of Kelly Clarkson, but he's not going to just fade away either.

[ via E! Online ]

How much cooler would it be to send your stalker letter to Kelly Clarkson with a Kelly Clarkson stamp? As Ryan Seacrest announced on last night's American Idol "Idol Gives Back" special, PhotoStamps has inked a deal with the show to produce commemorative stamps featuring the likenesses of each of the Idol winners so far, including this year's winner. In fact, Kelly Clarkson's PhotoStamp is already available, with subsequent stamps released each Tuesday.

So if you're planning to kidnap one of Kelly's hats and send her a ransom note with cut-out letters from various newspaper articles about her, demanding that she go out on a date with you if she ever wants to see it again, go that extra mile and show her you really care in that extra-special creepy way by using a Kelly Clarkson PhotoStamp! Remember, net proceeds from the sales of these stamps go to charity. And while you may be crazy, that doesn't mean you don't care!

Here are seven people who used their reality TV notoriety to their advantage. They have found success in other TV genres, film, or entrepreneurial pursuits. Some just found more fame in the genre that put them on thee map.

7. Colleen Haskell (Survivor): Colleen was in the first season of Survivor (Borneo) and while she didn't outwit, outplay and outlast the other cast members, she did make a good run of her fifteen minutes. She finished sixth in her season but was such a genuine and fair player that when her torch was extinguished Richard Hatch called her a "wonderful person." Using her American-apple-pie-pretty-girl-next-door appearance and attitude, she parlayed her reality TV fame into more roles in both television and film. She did a Blistex commercial and had a guest spot on That 70's Show. Most notably, however, she starred alongside Rob Schneider in The Animal (2001). Pretty good for a Catholic school girl from a small town in Maryland.

We've already seen Survivor and Big Brother go the all-star route. And The Amazing Race is getting set to kick off their own version. Heck, it seems like every time I click by MTV there is another show filled with past Road Rules and Real World cast members. So why not American Idol?

According to TV Guide, Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe is trying to sell Fox on the concept. It's part of the planned songwriting competition. Lythgoe's idea is to narrow those entries down to ten songs and then bring in ten former Idol contestants to sing the songs on the show.

I'm not an Idol fan, but I have to say, that's a solid idea. I'm guessing they won't be able to get Kelly Clarkson, and chances are Jennifer Hudson won't be involved. But assuming that they can manage to get ten of the more popular contestants, this should make for another huge week of ratings. And an American Idol All-Stars CD... And an American Idol All-Stars Special Edition DVD... And... good grief, Idol is just a machine. At this point it's rivaled only by the power of Harry Potter.

Justin Guarini is the new co-host of TV Guide Channel's Idol Tonight. You remember him, right? He's the lovable guy with the cute curls that sometimes stray into Sideshow Bob territory, who was no match for Kelly Clarkson during the finals of the first season of American Idol. Guarini is currently working on this third album, which he describes as "soul-funk" and he has a role in an indie film.

He'll share hosting duties with season three Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell and WB's Popstar winner Rosanna Tavarez. TV Guide has renewed Idol Tonight for a second season, which starts airing in March once the contestants are narrowed down to twelve people.

I've caught Idol Tonight a few times and I only find the season one retrospectives to be interesting because that's when the contestants really didn't know what they were in for. Plus, Kelly Clarkson without make-up!

You might think that Kelly Clarkson has it all. With two Grammy awards, five #1 singles, and over ten million copies of her latest record sold, what more could she ask for? Well, a "NASCAR. How bad have you got it?" commercial of course. The spot is part of a big deal the two have signed.

The relationship kicks off February 18th with Clarkson headlining the NEXTEL Tribute To America, live on Fox, before the Daytona 500. The commercial will combine race footage with Clarkson's performance and feature a song from her upcoming third album. She's in good company working with NASCAR. Other musicians that have been part of the promo series include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jewel, Lenny Kravitz, Leann Rimes, and Sheryl Crow.

This is an old clip from MadTV, but I just found it, so it's new to me, and probably to many of you too. The clip, called "Since We Were On," spoofs the first three seasons of American Idol winners (Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino) and runner-ups (Justin Guarini, Clay Aiken, Diana DeGarmo), as well as Simon Cowell, and the unforgettably-bad William Hung.

Howard Cohen of MiamiHerald.com seems to think so. In today's post he points out that several AI finalists didn't take top prize, but the show still helped catapult them to success. Jennifer Hudson's Golden Globe win last night certainly puts her on the top of the list for "Most Successful Ex-American Idol Losers," well, at least for the time being.

If I were a betting woman, and I'm not, I'd bet that the next American Idol probably isn't going to emerge from the Seattle, Minneapolis, New York, or L.A. auditions. I only say this because they never have before. In fact, all five Idols hailed from southern or southwestern American states. Therefore, I will be paying extra-close attention when AI airs the Memphis, San Antonio, and Birmingham auditions.

Take a closer look, after the jump.

Kelly Clarkson just joined the ranks of Madonna and U2. OK, she joined their ranks earlier this year when she won two Emmys Grammys, but now she is also signed on to a concert for HBO. The performance will be recorded at London's Wembley Arena on Feb. 3. The concert will feature her popular hits, Miss Independent, Since You Been Gone, and Breakaway, as well as songs from her new album, which coincidentally comes out in February. The E! announcement doesn't say whether the concert will be aired live or on tape.

This is good news for people like me who are fans of Kelly but are probably too old to feel comfortable at a concert.

Yesterday on AdJab, I complained that Kelly Clarkson's catchy new song for Ford's "Bold Moves" campaign, "Go", was infiltrating my brain and settling in like a mooching brother-in-law. I thought I could get rid of it by listening to the sound of brick being scraped by nail or any Yoko Ono CD. But then kindly commenter Steve passed along a link to a new page on the Ford web site where you can listen to a stream of the full version of the song. (Just go here and click "Go").

Against my better judgement, I went over and clicked on the stream. The damn song is even catchier than I thought. Now it's in my head for-freakin-ever. Thanks, Steve, wherever you are. I'll see you in hell.

Is it wrong that, as a 30-year old woman, I am actually considering going to a Kelly Clarkson concert? Clarkson, my personal favorite American Idol contestant/winner, is hitting the road this summer. She launches a 24-city concert tour, called Addicted, on June 30th. The tour kicks off in West Palm Beach, Florida and wraps up in August in my backyard, Seattle. Clarkson will perform her songs from her Grammy-winning album, Breakaway, and will preview songs from her upcoming album, which should be released in late 2006 or early 2007. Her tour dates are listed on her official website.

For lack of a better word or description, last night's show was weird and anti-climatic. At first, I was really excited about the contestants doing modern hits from the last 6 years, but then...nothing happened. I kept waiting for that one really great performance that would put the show into overdrive, but it never came.

First off, the show was cut down to a hour last night since there are only 10 contestants left. This made everything feel very rushed. It felt less like a national hit show and more like a filler before House came on. Secondly, all the judges were in agreement last night, and yet they were still fighting. Always weird. Thirdly, lack of time translated into lack of Seacrest zingers. Seacrest zingers are always the cheesiest of zings, and yet, I miss them when they're gone. It's like getting a dollar every year in your birthday card from Grandma. A dollar doesn't get you much (heck, it doesn't get you anything), but that first year when it's not in there...it burns. Finally, I think Kevin might have been eliminated prematurely. I'm convinced that if given the chance, he would have performed Britney Spears' "Toxic" and it would have been the best thing to happen to American Idol since Bobby sung the praises of the Copacabana.